


The Most Beautiful Thing

by PaperThinRevolutionary (SingFortissimo)



Series: Pursuit of Happiness [1]
Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Character Introduction, F/F, Infatuation, benny and usnavi arent crucial here but i really love them so here they are, meeting Eliza, prelude for Liberty's Angels
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-13
Updated: 2017-02-13
Packaged: 2018-09-23 22:49:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,720
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9685328
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SingFortissimo/pseuds/PaperThinRevolutionary
Summary: The famed Eliza Schuyler returns to Liberty's Angels from Stanford, and everything has to be perfect for Angelica's precious little sister. Maria, of course, is a tad resentful of this fact, but she supposes that she could make do. Of course, she didn't expect Eliza to be so, well....





	

Day in and day out, it was the same shit. Maria was growing bored, and everything was becoming tedious. She tapped at her desk, nails clicking against the stained oak. The music from the club out front was thumping loud enough that she could see the ripples flowing in her drink, and it was honestly just making her feel worse for the wear.

She growled a bit under her breath when she started to hear the hooting and hollering of the men out front, the normal Friday crowd at _Liberty’s Angels_. She hated it beyond words, but figured what with the rowdy noises, she should go out and make sure none of their girls got hurt. 

Just to be safe.

Besides, Angelica had been on and on for days now about wanting the place to look _“somewhat presentable”_ when her little sister came back into town, finally holding her degree from Stanford. It would be nice to hear Angelica shut up about her now that she was at least back at home. Maria was about ready to rip her damn hair out if she had to hear about her “perfect little sister” one more fucking time. 

At least Peggy never bragged about the mysterious middle child. In fact, she seemed as, if not more than, annoyed as Maria. 

If she were being honest with herself, well.. Maria supposed it must have been hard having someone so close all your life, only to have them run away to California. She could sympathize, really she could, but she could only tolerate Angie preaching the deeds of her “sweet angel of a sister” so long before she wanted to Van Gogh that shit and cut her fucking ear off. 

Shaking that thought aside, she straightened her blazer, slipped her heels back on and stepped out into the club. Nobody looked her way for the time being, too distracted by the half-naked women dancing on the stage. It took her a moment to adjust to the neon lights, pinks and purples flooding the room. She tried to avoid the club as much as she could, but here she was… 

Stepping to the front of the club, she settled long enough to order a fuzzy navel from the bartender. The man slid it down the bar to her, and tossed a wink along with it. She laughed and reached over to nudge him. “Lay off, De la Vega. I’m not tipping you for flirting. Save it for Benny.”

The man’s cheeks flushed a little, and he nudged her right back. “Aw, come on, Maria.” He pouted just a little, but there was still the soft hint of a smile there. “It’s been a boring night, lemme have a little bit of fun.” 

“Fine, fine. I still stand by it though. It’ll be better received with Benny, and you know that, Usnavi.” 

“Yeah, yeah. I know.” His cheeks were still flushed, but it was nothing compared to that goofy, glowing smile that the man got whenever the security guard was mentioned to him. 

Just in time of mention, a loud laugh rumbled from the door, and they both turned to see the man in question leaning against the wall and chatting up some girl. The strangest part though was that Usnavi didn’t look the slightest bit jealous. 

Usnavi _always_ looked jealous whenever Benny talked to other people. 

She raised a brow and looked to him, then knit them together. “Okay, what’s the deal?” 

“Nothing, nothing. Here, go take her a drink.” He quickly mixed something, it smelled like a Shirley Temple, and handed it to Maria. “It’s her favorite.” 

Okay, even more suspicious. 

“Um. Alright?” She narrowed her eyes and looked him over. She didn’t like this, not one bit. But if they both seemed to trust… Whoever this was, trust to the point that jealous little Usnavi wasn’t even verging on that, well… 

Maria sucked in a breath, shot Usnavi another curious and untrusting look, then carried on across the bar to the door, leaning against Benny a little bit as she nudged the stranger with the hand holding her drink. “Complements of the guy in the ugly hat.” 

“Hey, lighten up Maria.” Benny chuckled, bumping their hips together and finally earning a smile from the woman. 

The stranger in question turned to face her completely, and Maria could swore her heart skipped a beat. Her skin glowed like delicate porcelain under the house lights, and she wore a smile that could light up the whole of Manhattan. There was a certain life in her eyes that Maria was sure she had never seen within another living being before, especially not inside of Liberty’s Angels. That smile on her lips, sweet, welcoming, oddly inviting, caused her nose to scrunch ever so slightly in the most endearing way Maria had ever witnessed, and it ever so slightly dimpled her cheeks on top of that. 

Christ alive, she was gorgeous. 

Maria had to try and shake herself back into reality, and though she tried to be discreet, it was pretty obvious. The whole ordeal served just to embarrass her further when she heard the other woman giggle, a sound that rivaled church bells ringing. 

Shit. 

“Earth to Lewis?” Benny nudged her a little bit and raised his brow, just blatantly confused at that point. “Hello?” 

She jumped and looked at him, then back to the stranger. “Right. Sorry, sorry. Maria Lewis. What brings you to the club?”

“Oh, you’re Maria! I’ve heard wonderful things about you!” The other chirped, held out her hand. “I’m Eliza.” 

“Eliza?” Oh, fuck. She swallowed down her nerves and took the other woman’s hand. shook it firmly. “Like…. Angelica’s sister? Fresh out of Stanford Eliza?” 

“The very same.” That giggle again. God, she could have melted where she stood. That was spectacular. She would do anything to hear that sound again. Benny apparently noticed that and he nudged Maria again. 

“Go take her back to see her sister.” He mumbled softly, leaning close so only Maria could hear him through the wall-rattling music. “Quit ogling her, you look like Usnavi.” 

That actually earned a laugh, and she knocked him away. “Oh, come on. Fucking rude, Benny.” She laughed, then rolled her eyes. “Miss Schuyler, if you’ll follow me?” She offered her hand, albeit a little awkwardly. Eliza smiled bright and took it easily.

Maria’s heart may as well have beat out of her chest. 

She shielded Eliza from the view of the pigs throwing their bills to the dancers on stage, not wanting the girl to get harassed (Maria had gotten her fair share of harassment before she put a quick stop to it and broke somebody’s wrist, no one messed with her anymore). Soon enough, she was keying in her passcode to get into the offices in the back. 

They were small, dimly lit and a little eerie, but they had quickly become home. Maria shared a glance and a nod with a few people wandering around—Laurens, Hamilton, Lafayette… The usual boys—and kept moving until they were in her space. “Your sister should be coming back any moment, she left to get dinner. If you'd like, you can stay back here with me while you wait..?”

“That sounds lovely, Miss Lewis.” Eliza chirped.

Maria felt her cheeks flush dark, and she smiled bright. “Please, just Maria. No need to be formal with me. I promise. So, tell me about yourself?” 

“I’m sure Angelica’s said enough..” The other woman rolled her eyes and gave that sunshine smile again, the one that made Maria’s pulse quicken. Goddamn. 

“But it’s different. I’d like to hear what the prodigal Schuyler has to say about herself, not what her sister has to say.” Maria gave a playful smile, nudged at her just a little bit as he settled back, leaning against her desk and gesturing for Eliza to take the chair, which the other woman did easily with a bright smile. 

“Are you sure? It’s a boring story, I’m sure.” 

“I don’t think you could bore me, Miss Schuyler.” Maria said with a twinkle in her eyes, which earned a small laugh. 

Eliza brushed a bit of hair away from her eyes and hummed softly. “Please, just call me Eliza. Um… Okay.” She pursed her lips and tapped her chin. “Well, I’m the middle daughter, I’ve… Mm. I’ve just finished getting my law degree from Stanford Law, and I got a degree on the side in classical dance, just for fun. I got the law degree in hopes of helping my sister and our… Business out. Have someone other than Alexander, someone a little more level headed than he is to work out the legal side of what we do, find the loopholes and all that.. You know.” She waved her hand a little bit, dismissing that part of the conversation away. Maria nodded a little bit and kept her eyes on the other woman, smiling bright and taking in every word. 

She was completely smitten, and so quickly too. 

“What are your interests though, I’m sure that you have more going for you than ‘lawyer middle daughter’, right?” She urged softly, eyes glittering. 

“Oh, sure. Sure.. Um… I play piano, ukulele… I really enjoy that. I’d like to learn something else though, now that I… _might_ have more time. I used to tend the flower gardens at our estate, they were my favorite. I’ll admit, though, I’m kind of worried that Angelica let them die while I was away…” Eliza admitted with a soft laugh, rolled her eyes a little. “She’s never had much of a green thumb, no matter how hard Auntie Martha tried to teach her…”

Admittedly, it was odd hearing such a personal, even human, side of Angelica. Maria had only ever known her as the hard-ass in charge of Liberty’s Angels, a no-games, no-shit kind of woman. It was… Weird. Eerie, really, imagining her as anything but. Maria was pleasantly surprised. 

The two girls were comfortable with each other, that much was clear, and after a bit more back and forth about one another, Eliza cocked her head to the side a little, made eye contact with Maria and hummed before asking, “Anything else you’d like to know?”

“Yeah, just… One last thing. Could I take you to dinner?”

**Author's Note:**

> hello hello hello everyone! 
> 
> it's the build up to LA that nobody asked for, but you're getting it anyway! I really love these girls, and I wanted to somehow get my boys involved in it, too, so... here we are, with a little bit of ith and some more of the sweet babies that have stolen my heart. 
> 
> let me know what you think! we may have some more development coming your way <3 
> 
> until next time,  
> -krys


End file.
